Forty five miles north east of Huo Cheng in Xinjiang, there is an ancient castle called Ah Li Ma Li Gu.
This castle was built during t
e Xi Liao Dynasty. Allegedly, the first emperor of the
Yuan Dynasty once settled his troops here.
The castle was destroyed before the 16th century. A tombstone with Syrian inscriptions and the
carving of a cross was unearthed at a ruin inside the castle. According to research, this was the tomb of
a Nestorian monk or an early missionary,
showing that Christianity had already spread to Xinjiang before the 15th century.